Archive for the 'Polls' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

Tough question to answer from Dan Patrick while I was on his show Tuesday morning:

Has Kobe won his last title?

Despite Bryant's bold words after the Lakers' elimination Monday night in Oklahoma City, the Lakers will have to come up with some awfully creative answers to add speed, energy and hunger to this team that is also supposed to slice and dice the payroll in coming years. My column explaining the struggles of the past season also addresses how difficult shaping that future will be, even if it seems so logical now to trade Pau Gasol.

My answer to the tough question was: "If you put a gun to my head, I'd have to say yes." For the full audio of my spot on "The Dan Patrick Show, click here.

Finally, after 49 days and 24 games, Andrew Bynum will make his anticipated season debut Tuesday.

Bynum is expected to start his first game since having off-season knee surgery and Phil Jackson said he likely will play 15 minutes against the Washington Wizards. But what else can Lakers fans expect from the oft-injured center?

His presence definitely bring relief for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in means of playing times. The two have been shouldering heavy minutes the first quarter of the season and now they will have a chance at more rest.

But what will Bynum's offense look like? Will he be productive and have much timing after participating in a handful of 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 scrimmages, or will he simply look to rebound and concentrate on offense while he works himself back into game shape?

Three teams remain unbeaten in the NBA -- Lakers, Atlanta and New Orleans.

Who will fall first?

That's easy. It should be New Orleans, who plays LeBron James and his Miami Heat friends on Friday. The Heat (4-1) have been beating opponents by an average of 16 points and their only loss was the season-opening defeat to Boston.

But who will be second to lose their first game? That one isn't so clear.

The Lakers improved to 5-0 with their 112-100 victory against Sacramento and getting No. 6 shouldn't be difficult against Toronto (1-3) on Friday, but their seventh consecutive victory could be tougher against 4-1 Portland on Sunday.

One thing Scott was thinking when he surrendered hope of succeeding Phil Jackson this summer or next summer in taking the Cleveland head-coaching job: It's not easy to follow a legend. Mike Dunleavy tried to do it with the Lakers after Pat Riley and was around just two years, the second being barely above .500 and leading into Riley's buddy Randy Pfund going sub.-500 the next two seasons.

Shaw figures to have the advantage of immense talent and continuity, though also tremendous pressure. Shaw is obviously close to Jackson, but Scott is close to Riley -- and has a clear understanding of how few coaches have sustained excellence with the Lakers besides Riley and Jackson.

ESPN's John Hollinger crunches the numbers and comes up with 68 Miami Heat regular-season victories (65 if the Heat doesn't try late in the season). His piece (ESPN Insider subscription required to read) ends thusly:

"Whether it's 65, 68.3, 70 or 72, the overriding conclusion is the same: Miami is now the favorite to win it all. With three stars and just enough role-playing talent around them to fill in the cracks, a Miami-L.A. Lakers Finals next June almost seems preordained. Now if we could just get this pesky regular season out of the way ..."

The playoffs are right around the corner and what better time to start predicting the future NBA champion.

So if the season ended today, the Lakers, the top seeded team in the West, would face No. 8 Portland. The other Western Conference match-ups would be No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 San Antonio; No. 3 Dallas vs. No. 6 Phoenix and No. 4 Utah vs. No. 5 Oklahoma City.

In the Eastern Conference, No. 1 Cleveland will face No. 8 Toronto as it begins its quest for its first NBA title. The rest of the East would have No. 2 Orlando vs. No. 7 Miami; No. 3 Atlanta vs. No. 6 Charlotte and No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Milwaukee.

Who will be the last two teams standing, though? Can the Lakers shake off their complacency and get back to the Finals? Will they successfully defend their title? Check out our picks.